1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a hand-held device for smoothing and/or polishing surfaces, such as painted or enameled surfaces. The sander may be used to hold sandpaper or other abrasive sheet material or abrasive material may be embedded in or coated on the surface of the sander. Although not so limited, the sander of this invention is primarily intended for use in sanding non-planar surfaces, such as are encountered in auto body repair and finishing work, and the like. Although equally useful for dry or wet sanding, the device in its preferred form is especially adapted for wet sanding.
1. The Prior Art
The sander of the present invention has evolved from the hand-held sanding device which is the subject of my copending application Ser. No. 196,017, filed May 19, 1988. The sander of that application comprises a hand-held sanding device, for use with sandpaper or other abrasive sheet material, which comprises a generally cylindrical body of semi-resilient material having an outer arcuate face adapted to engage the back surface of a sheet of sandpaper or other abrasive sheet material over at least a substantial portion of that face, and having means for securely holding a sheet of sandpaper or other abrasive sheet material in tight abutting engagement with the body face. Various configurations of sander body structure are disclosed, along with a variety of alternative means for attachment of sandpaper or other abrasive sheet material to the sander body.